Seeing students gain self-esteem is reward enough<\/p>\n
By Dini S. Djalal<\/p>\n
Jakarta (JP): Today is teachers day. To the sound of the
\nclassroom bell, students will give thanks to their instructors,
\nand tutors will congratulate each other on surviving yet another
\nday. And among the glad-handing, these teachers may contemplate
\nwhat life without teaching, and teachers, would be like.<\/p>\n
Perhaps some of the female teachers will think about why they
\nbecame teachers, what teaching means to women, and vice versa.<\/p>\n
Job scarcity in Indonesia means a more balanced proportion of
\nmen to women in education than in more developed countries, but
\nhere, teaching is still regarded as women's work. Nurturing,
\nsympathetic, and assiduous are words commonly used to describe
\nhousewives and mothers; they also often precede descriptions of
\nteachers.<\/p>\n
"Women are more patient, more meticulous. These traits are
\nmore inherent in women than men, who are more practical," said
\nOtty Nuryaiti, a teacher at SMP 68 in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Nuryaiti has been teaching for 17 years. At this school, where
\nshe teaches English, there are 48 teachers for the 1000 students.
\nThirty of the teachers are women.<\/p>\n
At Al-Izhar's kindergarten and elementary school in Lebak
\nBulus, South Jakarta, women are more visible than men --
\nindication that, as in most schools and universities in Indonesia
\nand abroad, men are heading the institutions while women run the
\nclassrooms.<\/p>\n
The disparity is a reflection of the general labor divisions
\nin Indonesia, where women make up more than half of the labor
\nforce but only 5 percent of employers, where just 58 women sit
\namong the House's 500 members.<\/p>\n
The balance of power in the world of education and general
\nemployment remains tilted, but the situation today is a vast
\nimprovement from colonial times. Women have come a long way from
\n95 years ago, when Raden Ajeng Kartini, widely regarded as
\nIndonesia's first campaigner for women's rights, struggled to
\nobtain an education equal to her brothers.<\/p>\n
Working to improve her education and that of other housebound
\naristocratic Javanese women, Kartini set up a small elementary
\nschool for children in her home district of Jepara, an
\nachievement for that time.<\/p>\n
In the years following her death -- Kartini died after
\nchildbirth -- education has been the focus of Indonesia's women's
\nmovement. It's 70 years since the first Indonesian Women's
\nCongress (Kowani) campaigned for the establishment of schools for
\ngirls.<\/p>\n
And it's 60 years since freedom fighter H.R. Rasuna Said
\nestablished in Sumatra women teachers' colleges, and Kowani's
\nsecond congress waged a war against the high illiteracy rates
\namong women.<\/p>\n
Has the war been won? Not quite. In 1984, 8 million women, or
\n4 percent of the population, remained illiterate, and in 1996,
\nwomen still comprise the majority of Indonesia's 20.8 million
\nilliterate.<\/p>\n
Illiteracy<\/p>\n
More importantly, curtailing illiteracy does not necessarily
\nresult in an educated population. Most younger women now complete
\nthe compulsory elementary schooling, but cannot afford further
\neducation, thus limiting their work opportunities beyond manual
\nlabor.<\/p>\n
And surprisingly, women who are highly educated -- often due
\nto affluence rather than educational achievements -- would rather
\nforego employment than accept work below their status.<\/p>\n
Statistics state that 11 percent of urban educated women are
\nself-employed.<\/p>\n
Other educated women opt to work in sectors regarded as
\ncomplementary to women's so-called nurturing and meticulous
\nnature, such as nursing, secretarial work and teaching, due to
\ntacit encouragement from their families and society.<\/p>\n
Former minister of education and culture Sjaret Thajeb, for
\nexample, once called on women "To increase their participation in
\nmodernization and development in those fields appropriate to
\ntheir nature and biology," that is, social work.<\/p>\n
The call was heeded -- more than half of graduates from
\neducation and health education are women.<\/p>\n
Women teachers, however, are rightly proud of their
\nprofession. Ida Chandrawati Noviar, a kindergarten teacher at Al-
\nIzhar who once aspired to being a policewoman, said that teachers
\nhave a great responsibility in shaping the hopes and values of
\nthe next generation, and that watching her students obtain self-
\nesteem is reward enough.<\/p>\n
"A teacher's voice is so important in boosting a child's
\nspirit, even when they're young. When I see a child who's not
\nsure of himself or herself, I try to improve their confidence,"
\nsaid Ida.<\/p>\n
And while inequality continues in the world outside, in the
\nclassroom, a teacher can ensure that her students are treated,
\nand treat each other, more fairly.<\/p>\n
"We never differentiate our teaching, we say to the children
\nthat the doors to success are open for everyone," said Ida.<\/p>\n
For example, she tells her students to explore all kinds of
\nactivities, encouraging girls to build with building blocks and
\nboys to play household games, "because one day, they will be
\nfathers too," she said.<\/p>\n
Otty Nuryaiti agrees that the curriculum and expectations are
\nnot, or at least should not, be gender-specific. "I want all my
\nstudents to succeed, regardless of whether they're boys or girls,
\nbecause I feel they are all my kids," said Otty.<\/p>\n
What are changing are stereotypes, which persist but are
\ncontinually challenged by reality, said Otty. "We thought boys
\nwere smarter, but now we see that boys are more lazy, and that
\ngirls are becoming better at school because they are more
\ndiligent," said Otty.<\/p>\n
And stereotypical notions of girls being more submissive and
\nreticent often fall apart in the classroom. "There are as many
\nshy boys as shy girls, it depends on how a teacher encourages
\nthem," said Ida.<\/p>\n
Otty added that differences exist not in how students behave
\ntowards one another, or how teachers treat their students, but in
\nhow the students react to their teachers. "Girl students," said
\nOtty, "are often more manja (coy) with male teachers, and less so
\nwith me."<\/p>\n
That female students would apply so-called feminine wiles in
\nthe classroom is unsurprising in a society where all women are
\nexpected to aspire to motherhood. Students may receive equal
\neducation and encouragement, but in both private and public
\nschools, Islamic or Christian, female students are reminded of
\ntheir responsibilities in safeguarding the institution of the
\nfamily. "We treat all our children equally," said Ida, "but we
\nremind the girls of their kodrat (destiny).<\/p>\n
"We encourage them that even if they become leaders in the
\nprofessional world, they must not forget their duties at home."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/seeing-students-gain-self-esteem-is-reward-enough-1447893297",
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